Slice of Paradise

One of my favorite parts of this trip so far has been talking with New Zealanders about their country and their lives. It's a very different world down here at the bottom of the globe. And it takes a lot of money and effort to leave this island. We've met two different types of people so far - ones who have done an extraordinary amount of travel and those who have spent their entire lives on the island. Last night we had dinner with a native of Dunedin and his 7-year-old son. He was a fisherman and had taken his son on a camping vacation in Queenstown for New Year's. The furthest he had ever been from home is Sydney. What we learned is that he is fiercely patriotic - not just to New Zealand but to the South Island in particular. And also, for a small island, New Zealanders are still facing struggles with government, immigration and economics - and they have a heightened state of everything since life is slower and neighbors are up close and personal. We also learned that there is no place they'd rather be than here.

After yesterday's long trip, it was rough getting up this morning. We fought the alarm, but still managed to make it down to breakfast by 8. A note for future me, please remember that pesto goes really well with scrambled eggs.

Today's plan was to drive out to Glenorchy - a place that even New Zealanders call paradise. The road leading there is called NZ's most scenic road, and considering yesterdays' drive that says a lot. The sky was full of clouds but there was enough space for the sun to shine through, at least in the morning. The drive out of Queenstown was incredible. The road reminded us of Route 1 in California or the road north out of Vancouver to Whistler, B.C. It was smooth and serpentine along the shore of Lake Wakatipu. Everywhere you looked there was wide expanse of deep gem tone blue water and monstrous, towering mountains with snow capped peaks. And just to throw us off, the view was filled with plenty of palm trees.

The incredible drive to Glenorchy.

Snow capped mountains on the way to Glenorchy.

It took only about 45 mins to get to Glenorchy. The trail we wanted to hike was down a long, gravel road which was limited to 4WD. We decided to give it a shot to see how far we could get into the canyon. The views were impressive. Big, towering, expansive, majestic, are all words that come to mind. We got about 3/4 of the way to the trail head until we were foiled by a large stream that took over the road, so we turned around and went back. Then we tried heading down another gravel road to hike the Mt. Ernslaw Burn Track. Unfortunately we were foiled again, this time, we couldn't locate the trailhead. But that was okay, driving down these canyon roads were worth every second. We stopped and took lots of pictures, with sheep and all.

 

 

Foiled by a stream across the road.

Then we decided to head to the well-known and well-traveled Routeburn Track. It was the start of a 4-5 day hike with huts along the way (NZ has half a dozen or so of these multi-day tracks). When we got deep into the canyon to the trailhead, it was misting and raining, so we bundled up and headed out for our hike. It was a well-maintained trail, complete with three suspension bridges to cross. The trail meandered through wet forests and ferns, alongside a turquoise blue stream that started way up in the mountains from large waterfalls. Every break in the canopy above revealed towering peaks all around us. We hiked a roundtrip of a little more than 5 miles. We wished we could have traveled further, but we had to get on the road to get back into town for our New Year's Eve dinner.

 

 

 

 

By the time we got back into Queenstown, the place was alive with people. Cars were parked down every road leading into town. Families, young people were streaming in for the New Year's Eve festival. Music was blaring from houses, hotels, cars, bars. It was almost as if the city had it's own heartbeat.

We got dressed for our dinner. Meanwhile, the rain and wind that we encountered in Glenorchy was arriving into town. Our plan had been to take a water taxi to our dinner, but the lake was angry with white caps and so all water taxis were cancelled for the evening. We cabbed a few inlets over to the Wakatipu Grill at the Hilton for our fabulous New Year's Eve dinner. When we arrived, we were greeted with champagne, and escorted to our table in the open terrace on the lake, overlooking the mountains. Dinner may have been in our top five of all time. We started with fresh bread and goat cheese. Then we both had perfectly cooked sea scallops on a red pepper relish. The main course was melt-in-your-mouth New Zealand lamb with a yogurt sauce and roasted garlic. And to finish, Dave had Bavarian vanilla cream with strawberries and I had creme brulee with raspberries, a soft ginger cookie and cinnamon ice cream. Thank goodness the water taxis still weren't operating when we were finished, I'm not sure if they could have handled both of us with our full stomachs.

 

 

We were finished by 8:30 and it was still perfectly light out, however, the rain and wind had officially arrived. The cab brought us right to the door of our hotel - and instead of heading out into town, we changed into comfy clothes and opened up our balcony doors to let in the sounds of the crazy city, alive with music and parties. We're sitting here now, watching the sun go down and listening to the thumping of DJs and early fireworks echoing off buildings and mountainsides. The rain isn't stopping anyone tonight (except us, maybe). This city is rocking and swaying with people. Every few minutes screams and cheers erupt from somewhere in the hills, only slightly muffled by the steady rain. It's about an hour and a half before fireworks over the lake will ring in the new year. What a perfect way to close out a long and emotional 2012. Far away from life's worries, caught up in the wind, rain and music and enjoying each other's company. Happy New Year everyone. I wish you all a little slice of paradise, wherever that may be. We're off to enjoy ours. Cheers!

Happy New Year from Dave and Nicole!